SEPTEMBER- OCTOBER 2017 PRAYER LETTER

KENYA ELECTION UPDATE

The Kenyan Presidential elections were held on the 8th of August and the voting process was conducted peaceably.  As the country awaited the results there were some obvious apprehension on the outcome, but overall it could not have gone much better.  After the counting of the ballots, the incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the winner. Half the country broke out into celebration and the other half went into mourning.  There were some isolated riots of protest and a lot of tension as the country waited to see what the losing candidate, Raila Odinga, would do.  Would he accept the outcome or would he incite his followers?  He had begun indicating that he would not accept the outcome but was silent on what he was going to do.  Tension was rising and people were worried.  It forced us to cancel all of our Bible College sessions as people needed to stay near their homes in case the worse happened.

Surprisingly, to most people, Raila Odinga took his issues with the election to court and said he was willing to accept the verdict of the supreme court.  Most of Kenya believing the court would accept the results of the election were ready to get on with their day to day living.  On the 1st of September the Supreme Court of Kenya shocked the continent of Africa and for the first time ever in Africa, ruled that the election was nullified because it had not been conducted correctly according the  Kenyan constitution.  According to the ruling a new election has to be held within 45 days.  This new election is now scheduled to take place on the 26th of October.

The tension in Kenya has now risen tremendously because of these events.  In our twenty years living in Kenya I have not seen the tribal hatred and animosity as great as it is now.  I have read and heard things said that are very dangerous.  There are people on both sides of the political spectrum that have indicated that they will not be willing to accept defeat in this next election.  The president is furious at the supreme court and has used language against it that is very provocative. The challenger has indicated that he will not allow the election to go forward if reforms in the election process are not done first.  Obviously in the short amount of time before the election date this is close to impossible.

The Grace Bible Baptist Church has many different tribes represented in the membership that are on the opposite side of the political spectrum.  The church remains unified and continues holding special prayer meetings to help ensure the unity remains.  Please continue to be in prayer for the nation of Kenya as this election process goes forward.  The chances of trouble have greatly increased.